Reinforcing BAE Systems' strong relationship with the Indian Air Force (IAF) and aircraft manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the company has recently secured a Â£59 million contract for the provision of spares and ground support equipment to aid the Hawk training aircraft operations.

This brings the total value of Hawk related contracts won in India to more than Â£600 million in the last 18 months. Hawk is manufactured in India under license by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited with materials, parts and support services provided by BAE Systems.

Guy Griffiths, BAE Systems' Group Managing Director, International, said, "The Indian Air Force has one of the largest fleets of Hawks anywhere in the world, and this contract is vital to ensure the continued availability of the fleet. This new order strengthens the robust production platform established by our partner HAL for the aircraft, which remains the benchmark advanced jet trainer in service today."

Underlining BAE Systems' growing presence in India, Defence Land Systems India (DLSI), the company's joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra, has begun delivery of a small, but strategically important, order from the police in the Eastern state of Jharkhand for the company's mine protected vehicle. Manufactured using technologies and skills transferred to the joint venture by BAE Systems South Africa, where it is a world leader in the design and manufacture of mine protected vehicles, this is the first such vehicle to be indigenously designed and manufactured by a privately owned defence company in India.

BAE Systems has been developing India as one of its five Home Markets since 2009, in addition to Australia, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Today, BAE Systems India has nearly one hundred employees. In addition, the company's two Joint Ventures, Defence Land Systems India, a land systems focused joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra, and BAeHAL, a software engineering joint venture with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd based in Bangalore, together employ over 500 people.